Taye Diggs Takes the Hill
The resurrection of the sitcom Family Affair failed, but that was just because the name sounded too dirty now. Still, nobody doesn't like the idea of womanizing bachelors and their gay manservants raising precocious tots, which is why Romeo is rooting for Kevin Hill, an upcoming UPN series starring Chicago's Taye Diggs. Diggs plays Hill the lady-killer, who finds himself suddenly saddled with his cousin's daughter to raise. Jon Seda from Third Watch co-stars, as well as up-and-comer Patrick Breen (last seen on Joan of Arcadia by whomever it is that watches Joan) as George, the gay nanny. UPN has committed to a pilot episode of the Mel Gibson-produced show, which means that it could eventually end up on the air or disappearing into the black hole where aborted pilots go to spend eternity. Stay tuned.
Our Fathers, Who Art on Showtime
Our Fathers: The Secret Life of the Catholic Church in an Age of Scandal, the exhaustive account of child sex abuse by Catholic priests written by gay journalist David France, will be made into a film for cable channel Showtime. Casting has already begun on the project, to be titled simply Our Fathers. Showtime entertainment president Robert Greenblatt swears that the film will be serious and not exploitive of victims' suffering—the stories will be factual, but the names will be changed—and will focus on the widespread cover-up attempts made by the Catholic Church. France, who is a senior editor at Newsweek, will serve as a consultant on the film.
Butterfly Effect Creators Have Fuel-Injected Dreams
The film version of late gay author James Robert Baker's novel Testosterone is already in the can and waiting for a theatrical release, and now it looks like his first book, 1986's Fuel-Injected Dreams, may be headed for the big screen, too. The novel—a 'what-if' story that juxtaposes a Phil Spector-ish producer, a Ronnie Spector-like singer, and a popular Los Angeles radio DJ (seemingly loosely based on L.A. radio legend Rodney Bingenheimer) in a freaky triangle of perversion has reached the hands of Butterfly Effect writer/directors Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. The duo plans to take on the blackly comedic thriller, and if they end up turning it into the same kind of shlocky, insane mess that made Butterfly so entertaining, they'll have another big hit on their hands. Maybe if they get Ashton Kutcher to sign on ... .
TLA Traps Spanish Bears
Think all gay men spend their free time working on their abs and waxing that back hair? Then make sure to catch Cachorro (Bear Cub) when it hits American art-house theaters later this year. TLA Releasing has acquired North American theatrical distribution rights to Spanish director Luis Miguel Albaladejo's new feature, which just premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. It's the story of a dentist in Madrid who lives his life in the 'bear' subculture of big-bellied, big-bearded gay men (apparently, the film doesn't flinch from showing the big furry guys getting it on either), only to see his carefree existence abruptly change when his 11-year-old nephew comes to live with him. The Family Affair plot strikes again!
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